1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of optical imaging. More particularly, the invention concerns an apparatus for combining fluorescence, reflectance and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy for vein locating and sample imaging, and a method of operation thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Transport of light that undergoes Brownian random walk at a microscopic level is described macroscopically using diffusion theory. Tracking of individual light photons at each scattering event has proven to be very complicated.
Conventional systems fail to provide an accessible solution that offers high-sensitivity, non-destructive, non-invasive, portable and cost effective analysis to detect features within turbid media. Conventional systems do not provide a non-invasive method to locate veins and corresponding depths of veins beneath the skin of living biological tissue, to perform vein location for venipuncture.
Provided herein is an apparatus and method that provides three-dimensional remote optical sensing of objects within turbid media to identify depth and location within the turbid media, for example to identify one or more veins with corresponding depths within biological tissue via tracing of photons and average motion of a cloud of light photons after scattering events.